


The Universe Runs on Rebellion

by Cosmichumor



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Space Opera, F/M, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:09:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29315361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmichumor/pseuds/Cosmichumor
Summary: Lt. Commander Makoto Niijima finds herself dragged into a world of space pirates and thievery when asking the wrong questions puts her on the wrong side of the law. Through it she'll find adventure, treasure, romance, and what it is she really wants in the world. My personal love letter to the space opera genre and the phantom thieves themselves.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto
Comments: 15
Kudos: 41





	1. Meeting and Reuniting

“Lt. Commander Niijima. Briefing room to Lt. Commander Niijima.”

Makoto Niijima, Lt. Commander of the starship  _ Crow  _ blearily got to her feet. She was supposed to be able to rest until 9:00 today. Captain Akechi had better have good reason for getting her up. She got up and quickly checked that she was decent. She had fallen asleep in a large t-shirt and sweatpants. She briefly weighed whether or not it would be better to answer immediately in her sleep clothes or to let Akechi wait while she put on her uniform. Makoto decided it was better not to keep the Captain waiting, particularly not in the unlikely case that she would be able to go to sleep. 

She hit the activation button on her desk and Akechi’s face came in front of her on her private computer screen. His face was probably the last thing she wanted to see now.

“Late night, Lt. Commander?” asked Akechi in that tone of voice that always made Makoto feel like he was just asking to get decked. Makoto kept her tone even in her coming response, not revealing her resentment of her commanding officer. 

“I’m not on duty for another three hours, captain.” Makoto said. “I do believe what I do when not on duty is my own business.” In truth she had simply been reading up on her next mission briefing before watching a movie and going to bed. She really did not appreciate Akechi implying her partaking in uncommanderly actions.

Akechi nodded thoughtfully, absorbing her words as though they were sage advice and that he had never considered the importance of the privacy of his officers.“My apologies, Lt. Commander, but we’re going to need you to report to your fighter in the hangar. Pilot gear. You’ll be escorting a ship in.”

Akechi had woken her up to escort in a ship? “All due respect, Captain, but shouldn’t there be pilots that are perfectly able to escort a ship in on duty? I don’t see why this requires me to be taken off.”

“This is a high priority mission. High risk. I need the best, and you’re my best.” Akechi said. “This was an order from Admiral Niijima.”

Makoto stiffened at that. Admiral Sae Niijima, one of the most brilliant tactical commanders in the Earth Galactic Federation and her older sister. She also happened to be the woman who had cost Makoto a captainhood, not that it mattered. Both she and Akechi had been up to take command of the  _ Crow _ . The choice of promotion had been up to Sae, and she chose the one that wouldn’t get her accused of nepotism. Akechi received the ship and Makoto was made second in command and XO of the pilots. Not a bad position, particularly not on such a respected ship, but Makoto couldn’t help but think about what she had been denied because of who she was related to. 

“Understood sir. I’ll be down in the hanger ASAP.” she said. “Lt. Commander Niijima out.”

Makoto really wished she had the time to take a shower but emergency calls were emergency calls. She quickly opened up her closet to grab her pilot gear. While her regular uniform was completely standard without even the minor alterations the federation had allowed for uniforms, she allowed herself a bit more freedom with her piloting gear. She dressed into a sleek black outfit with decorative spikes in various places and padded gloves that hardened her blows and increased impact force. They were partially small personal additions she had added to the standard uniform, but also made for a practical if improbable reason. She had heard too many stories of snub fighters who had ended up marooned on planets without a single weapon. At least with this she’d be able to punch open a space coconut or something for food. The last touch was a scarf which was purely decorative, her own little nod to fighter pilots and bike riding heroes of ancient earth. Makoto was a practical woman but not without a sense of romance. Having dressed, she made her way down to the hangar. 

Akechi was awaiting her there, idly watching the crew perform their basic duties. The  _ Crow _ was hardly a lax ship, but operations were still going to be more tense and in accordance with regulations. Makoto made acknowledgements to some of her crew in their orange jumpsuits with contrasted hers, nodding towards Officers Ozawa and Matsunaga while she made her way to the Captain.

“Makoto.” he said cheerfully, always trying to act more friendly with her than they actually were. Makoto had never liked Goro Akechi. She would fulfill her role as an officer and dutifully obey his command while stationed here, but there was no universe where the two of them would ever become drinking buddies. 

“Captain Akechi.” she said, giving a very formal salute. 

Akechi was at least smart enough to read her body language. “The reason we need you for this escort isn’t frivolous. Admiral Niijima is bringing us a prisoner which we are instructed to take to the penitentiary on Ganymede.”

“Admiral Niijima was involved in capturing a criminal?” asked Makoto. Not that catching criminals wasn’t part of the Federation fleet’s job, but that was left to specifically assigned ships, usually much lower on the chain that the  _ Crow _ let alone demanding the attention of one of the most decorated admirals in the fleet.

“It was a case that the Admiral was involved in herself.” Akechi explained. “She was very insistent we have someone high level and needed immediate assistance.”

“And do we know who this criminal is?”

“She didn’t provide any details.” Akechi said. “You know how your sister can be. Something tells me that this was a matter of personal pride for her. She’s visiting with someone named… Kaneshiro I believe.”

“Not military?” Makoto asked. 

Akechi shook his head. “Civilian. A businessman as far as I know. The only details that she provided was that he aided in capturing the pirate.”

“What sort of business?” Makoto couldn’t help but be curious. How would a businessman aid in capturing some high level criminal?

“She didn’t elaborate.” Akechi said. “She was being particularly… Sae-ish about this.”

Makoto really wished Akechi wouldn’t speak of Sae as though they were friends. Even if their relationship had been icy at the time and Akechi had probably been spending more time with her lately. Still, that was her sister. If Akechi was going to get the promotion due to not being related, why should she also lose her only living relative in the process?

“So she requested me as escort then?” Makoto asked. 

“Specifically, she wanted ‘your best pilot’ and the choice was obvious.” Akechi said. “I don’t know what she expects to happen as she approaches the ship but she never was one for half measures.”

Of course, it would have been far too much to hope that Admiral Niijima would actually want to be with her sister. Even so, she simply nodded. “How long until their estimated arrival? Soon enough that you had to call me early?”

“Apologies.” Akechi said in that way that made it clear he didn’t actually feel any remorse. “She’ll be arriving within the hour, so we’ll need you to get into your fighter right away. As per regulations, you’ll be receiving extra off time for being called in off hours.”

Off hours that no doubt she would be called over for more things that seemed to come up. Akechi, despite his reputation, hardly ran the tightest ship and Makoto in particular was always called up to cover for the problems that came up. Makoto prided herself in her reliability but that could be a curse. On the  _ Crow _ , as in many places, the reward for work well done was more work. 

“Understood.” Makoto offered a short salute as she headed to her snub fighter. 

The hangar wasn’t particularly big. The  _ Crow  _ was a basic science and exploration vehicle. Like all Federation ships, it had a defense contingent, but nothing that compared to the Intergalactic Frigates that would house hundreds of single manned fighters. There was really nothing particularly special about this hangar other than the fact that it was where Makoto kept her own fighter. 

Makoto touched the outside of  _ Johanna _ , her Class-B starfighter. Thin and forward facing, with two thrusters on each side, it was a model that was reserved for the best pilots they had. She had it modified from the standard model, sacrificing firepower for speed and maneuverability. She touched her hand to its nonstandard sleek black paint job. If there was something good about this, she would get to fly. Ever since being assigned under Akechi, she could count the times she had flown her fighter on one hand. Perhaps in that regard, she was lucky she was overlooked for the promotion. It might have gotten her the respect she deserved, but she would go insane if she had to stay away from flying. 

She climbed into her fighter, applied her safety straps and her helmet, gave the proper protocols and guided her ship out to the endless abyss of space. Once she was out, Makoto sent out a hailing ping on the standard military frequency. All of it happened almost by muscle memory. Her frustration at being woken up early, the annoyance at Akechi, and even the trepidation of having to meet her sister again, it all floated away when she was out in the expanse of space. It was just her, the black, and the mission. That clarity was rarer than she wanted it to be. When had her life just turned into her being dragged around, following orders, not even thoughts of things getting better? An order came, she followed it. 

What do you do when you don’t know what you want to do?

Makoto was pulled out of her thoughts when she received a response to her ping. “This is  _ Judgment _ to  _ Crow _ liaison. Come in. “ The voice was unfamiliar to her. Even so, she responded with standard protocol.”

“This is Lt. Commander Niijima to Starship  _ Judgment _ . I’m piloting the snub fighter  _ Johanna _ to escort you to the  _ Crow.  _ Please bring the admiral on the line.” 

“Lt. Commander… Niijima?” the officer on the other line said, not bothering to hide his confusion. Makoto suppressed a sigh. She should have figured this would happen.

“If you don’t believe me you can check my ship’s registration tags.” Makoto said. “If you really think it’s worth it to keep the admiral waiting.”

“N-no ma’am.” responded the officer on the line. There was silence for a moment before a new voice came through.

“Lt. Commander Niijima?” said a familiar voice. Admiral Niijima. Her sister Sae. Technically speaking, it didn’t matter for the purposes of this mission. Still, it had been years since the two had seen each other. Not since the academy. Sae hadn’t even come to see her to explain why Akechi had been chosen for captainhood above her. “This is Admiral Niijima. I am currently carrying a dangerous convict. I apologize for the sudden call, but this criminal is high priority and we need to get him to high security as soon as possible.”

“Understood Admiral.” Makoto said. “Sending coordinates of the  _ Crow  _ and providing escort support. If I may ask, who is the prisoner?”

“That’s classified, Lt. Commander.” Sae replied. “Estimated time until arrival?”

“I’d like to know that too.” came an unfamiliar voice. “This thing’s so cramped. Been here all day. Could really use a stiff drink.”

“Someone silence the prisoner.” Sae said. To someone who didn’t know her, Sae sounded as even as always. Makoto knew her sister better than that, though. She may have been pretending to be calm, but there was a meteor storm brewing right under that professional voice.

“About twenty minutes, going on sublight entry speed.” Makoto said, ignoring the prisoner. Verbally, anyways. Internally, she couldn’t help but be curious. He sounded… young? Like he was Makoto’s age, early to mid twenties. If Sae was going to bring someone with this much urgency, shouldn’t it have been someone more hardened? And why be so secretive? Makoto was just going to see the prisoner as they were brought out. She shook her head. It was just Sae being Sae, she supposed. “Follow my lead.”

The trip back was uneventful, which was good… Makoto supposed. On the other hand, if she was going to be brought on duty as though it was an emergency, it would have been nice to be an actual emergency. Makoto sighed and dismissed those thoughts. This was the life of a federation officer. These were her orders and what she had enlisted for. No point in questioning it at this point. 

She docked in and wordlessly gave an apology to  _ Johanna _ . It felt wrong to use such an exquisite fighter for such an uneventful flight. Might as well have used a junk cruiser without anyn weapons for all that did. She once read that samurai were honorbound to spill blood once they had unsheathed their swords, a reminder of the deadly power of their blades and to keep them from being used casually. Of course, Makoto was no samurai or superhero. She was a part of something much bigger. 

Akechi was there to greet Makoto as she got out of her fighter. She offered a quick salute to her captain. “Am I dismissed?” she asked.

“Unfortunately not.” said Akechi. “I’d rather have someone capable here than call for someone new. Besides, don’t you want to see your sister again?”

Did she? Makoto really wasn’t sure. Even so orders were orders. She accompanied Akechi to the  _ Judgment _ . The ship was barely bigger than Makoto’s, being a ship that could seat maybe ten people. She watched as the ramp came down and Sae came down, an honor guard accompanying her.

“Admiral Niijima.” Akechi said. Both he and Makoto saluted in concert, though Makoto said nothing.

“Captain Akechi.” Sae said. “Thank you for accommodating us on such short notice. Unfortunately, time was of the essence and we couldn’t risk letting him escape.”

“Not at all.” Akechi said. “Routine scanning mission. Nothing to worry about. If we don’t want to delay, we might as well bring the prisoner in.”

Sae nodded and gave a silent gesture to her honor guard. They disappeared back up the ramp. That was when she heard… chains rattling? The prisoner was in literal chains? Were these the days of old earth? How dangerous was this criminal?

Then he came down and Makoto knew exactly how dangerous he was. Everyone in the Federation had seen this man. His dramatic black coat was tattered and his mask was gone, but there could never be any mistaking the Phantom Pirate Joker, his lanky figure and coiffed black hair had been seen in blurry holo images along the galaxy. This was certainly a massive surprise.

What was more surprising was how handsome he was…

Makoto immediately chastised herself for the thought. She was an officer, and the attractiveness of a prisoner was irrelevant. Even so, she was surprised at the fact that she even thought such a thing. It wasn’t like her to think about things like physical attraction. She must have been tired. 

“Not a great flight.” the prisoner’s voice broke her out of her thought. He had a smug smile that Makoto couldn’t help but find immensely charming. Black stars, did his voice have to sound nice too? “But I hope the vacation spot’s worth it. I’ll have a Gargle Blaster.”

One member of the honor guard launched a fist into Joker’s gut as he bent over from the force. Makoto winced in spite of herself.

“Captain Akechi,” she said in spite of herself. “I understand the severity of the prisoner’s crimes, but that was clearly excessive force.”

“Lt. Commander…” Akechi said with a warning.

“No, she’s right.” Sae said. Makoto gave a noiseless sigh of relief at that. She looked at her officer. “Our crew is a skeleton crew thanks to its confidentiality. As a result, many of us have been on edge, but that is still not an excuse for Sergeant Daisuke’s behavior. I shall deal with him later. Until that, he is dismissed.” 

The sergeant looked like he was about to say something, but thought better of it as Sae glared at him. He simply gave a nervous salute and returned to the ship. 

“We have a holding cell reserved.” Akechi explained. 

“Very good.” said Sae. “Let’s get going. Lt. Commander, please accompany us. If I recall your report, you’re skilled at CQC, and we could use all the guards we can.”

Makoto nodded, though she couldn’t help but notice the wording. Her reports. Sae had always been too busy to follow up on her younger sister’s progress at the academy even though she was Makoto’s legal guardian. Even so, Makoto saluted again and accompanied the honor guard to the brig.

As she left, Makoto saw another figure descending the  _ Judgment’s _ ramp. Portly, but he carried his weight with an odd confidence, in a fancy suit that he wore lazily, the first button undone. He began speaking with the member of the honor guard that had been left behind. As she left, their eyes met and Kaneshiro gave her a smile. It evoked the exact opposite reaction in her that the pirate had, causing her skin to crawl all over. 

“Is the civilian… Kaneshiro, I believe?” Makoto asked.

Sae nodded. “He was a target of the phantom pirates. He offered help capturing them in return for favors. Unfortunately, we only caught their captain. Even so, he held his part of the bargain and he’ll be receiving his reward for it.”

“And what may I ask, was his request?” Makoto asked.

“A contract with the federation.” Sae said. She didn’t break her “Lt. Commander, if you don’t mind we have a lot to do today. Your questions are understandable, but I will give all that information in the briefing. We are in a hurry.”

“I could take the time to take in the sights.” Joker offered. 

“Quiet, prisoner.” Sae responded tersely. To her surprise, Joker offered nothing else, seeming to find Sae’s response in and of itself a small victory. 

The cell they had for Joker was small, a holding cell with a transparent energy screen to hold him in. 

“What, no bathroom?” Joker said as an honor guard pushed him in. The barrier flickered to life and Joker sat down in his seat, hands still bound. He sat down on the bench in the cell, trying his best to seem lazy and unconcerned.

“You’ll have a more comfortable cell soon enough.” Sae said. “Now, you’ll tell me where your accomplices are.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’d be more worried about your accomplices.” Joker said, gesturing in the general direction of the hangar. “Wait, I forgot. The federation dealing with the yakuza is just business as usual.”

“The Yakuza?” Makoto said out loud. Looking at the kind of person Kaneshiro was, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he was a part of the centuries-old crime gang. But her sister working with them? Would Sae really do that?

“Lt. Commander, I would appreciate you keeping silent unless you would like to be dismissed.” Sae said. “Need I remind you that this is a pirate and he will lie to get his way.”

Makoto nodded. Everything Sae said made sense but even so. Something about this… involving a civilian, the chains, the brutality she had seen earlier. None of it felt right. Even so, she stayed quiet. For the moment anyone.

“I know you had accomplices even beyond your crew.” Sae said. “If you cooperate with us, then they’ll get reduced sentences.”

At that Joker’s lazy stance stiffened and he locked eyes with Sae. His smile didn’t fade, but there was a bit more of a determination in his eyes. Sae gave a soft smirk, knowing that she had come across something. 

“You got me.” Joker said. “Every time I stopped at a Big Bang Burger, the cashier was in on the whole thing. I could tell you about each one I stopped at one at a time if you have the time.”

Sae stiffened, but did not move herself from her position. Makoto knew that this was going to take awhile. “Captain, Lt. Commander. I’m sure you have plenty of other duties to attend to. Send some security officers to watch the door while I continue interrogating him.”

Both Makoto and Akechi saluted and moved to walk away. Before she got any further, she heard Sae’s voice.

“Makoto…” she said softly.  _ Makoto _ . Not Lt. Commander. She actually used her name. “It’s been awhile. Let’s have dinner tonight.” 

There was a part of her that leapt at actually having her sister acknowledge her. She managed to control herself and gave a salute. “Ma’am. Does 1800 hours sound good for you?”

Sae nodded. “I’ll see you then.” 

At that, Makoto left her sister with the most notorious criminal in the galaxy. 

******   
  


Sae’s quarters were, of course, the nicest in the ship’s. Makoto’s were decently sized but the Admiral had a veritable condo. The quarters were reserved for VIP visitors such as diplomats, high profile researchers, and of course admirals. Makoto came in to see the table set with surprising delicacies: Tuvarian wine was in the middle and there was a full set of sushi on the table. It was real sushi too, not simply made from the replicator. Makoto always wondered why real food always tasted so much better than replicated food, even though it was molecularly identical. It couldn’t simply be psychosomatic, could it? 

Makoto entered the quarters in casual clothes: a blouse and dress shirt. She didn’t want to make too much of a show of her sister’s presence and she didn’t have much in the way of fancy clothing even if she wanted to. Sae herself was still in her uniform, perhaps not having the time to change.

“Hello , Makoto.” she said. “It’s been awhile.”

Makoto tried to unstiffen but was only partially successful. She had no idea what to say other than. “Yeah, sis. It has.” 

“Sit down, Captain Akechi brought some good food for our visit.” Sae said cheerfully before adding with frustration. “He always was a brown noser.”

_ You’re the one who made him captain. _ Makoto thought as she took a seat. Sae offered some wine, but Makoto politely put a hand up, instead taking a bite of sushi. It was delicious. Of course it was. She couldn’t remember the last time she had tasted something so good.

“How has work been on the  _ Crow _ ?” Sae asked.

“Uneventful.” Makoto said. “Just routine scans and security work.”

Sae nodded thoughtfully. “Good. You deserve some peace and quiet after how rough the academy was on you.”

Ah yes. To Sae, graduating salutatorian would of course be ‘rough’. “Is that why didn’t give me captainhood? You didn’t want my career to be rough?”

Sae gave a sigh. “Don’t be like that.” she said. “You know why. Do you know what it would look like if I chose my own sister for captain?”

Makoto nodded mechanically. Her next thought was to ask an even more upsetting question, which probably wasn’t smart, but she couldn’t leave it alone.

“About the prisoner you brought in…” Makoto said.

“Not your post.” Sae said immediately. 

“I know, but something he said…” Makoto said.

“Not. your. Post.” Sae answered.

Makoto pressed forward. “That Kaneshiro person. The pirate said he was a part of the yakuza.”

“That was never proven.” Sae said, her irritation showing. 

Makoto wasn’t the most experienced officer ever, but no one would ever say she was stupid. She knew exactly what ‘never proven’ meant.

“Crime lords, sis?” Makoto asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be better than this?”

“Do you think I’m the first person in the Federation to make a dark deal?” Sae said. “Do you honestly think this is even among the worst? We needed to catch a criminal and I got help to do it. Simple as that.”

“But-”

“Do you know why I chose Akechi over you for captainhood?” Sae said. “It had nothing to do with us being family. It has everything to do with you. You’re not captain material for reasons like this. Soldiers follow orders. You? All you do is ask questions.” Sae grabbed her glass of wine and downed half of it while Makoto sat there in shock at what she was saying. “Honestly, I don’t think you should have even entered the military academy.”

“I was following in mom and dad’s-” Makoto started to defend herself but Sae continued.

“You were chasing my coattails is what you were doing!” Sae responded. “Stars forbid you ever do something on your own. You couldn’t deal with not being attached to someone. You couldn’t deal with not having someone to depend on. You’re a grown adult and you keep chasing after me as though that’ll solve something.” She finished the rest of her glass. “This was a mistake. You’re dismissed.” 

“Sis…” Makoto tried to find some words, any words to make her sister feel better, make her less angry.

“I said leave!” Sae wasn’t quite shouting but the force of her voice was undeniable. 

Makoto avoided saluting or calling her by her title, having at least the presence of mind to realize that would make her angrier. Makoto left the room quickly and started making for her quarters. 

As she headed over, she played the entire scenario in her head. Why had her first impulse been to try and comfort her sister when she had been the one yelling at her? Maybe Makoto was prying, but that hadn’t been an excuse for those words.

Even if some of them might happen to be true. 

“Fine.” Makoto said to herself. “If my problem is that I ask too many questions, then I guess I’ll just find someone who could answer my questions.”

Instead of her quarters, Makoto headed to the brig.


	2. Life Will Change

When Makoto came to the brig, Joker was there, fiddling with his restraints. Makoto had to admit it was excessive to shackle his hands when he was already in confinement. On the bright side, those excessive restraints meant no extra guards were around anymore.

“Planning your next big escape?” Makoto asked.

“Well, I did ask for some manga, but they said no, so a swashbuckling and dramatic escape is what I’m doing to pass the time.” he said, flashing a too-handsome-to-be-possible smile. Black suns, how did he look so good even bruised and in a bunch of tattered clothing? 

Makoto pushed that out of her mind and silently admonished herself. She was here to get answers about Kaneshiro, not to ogle some pretty boy. 

“And how is that going?” Makoto asked. 

Joker gestured towards her with his shackled hands. “Could use a little help.” he admitted. 

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” Makoto said. Was he… flirting with her? “I came here to ask you some questions.”

“Is this a good cop bad cop thing? Lt. Commander Niijima, right? Related to the admiral? You her daughter or something?”

“She’s my elder sister.” Makoto said. 

“Should have figured.” Joker said. “I’ve got to hand it to your folks. They knew how to make some nice-looking daughters. Don’t suppose they’re on this ship too? I’d like to pass my congratulations to them.” 

Makoto’s lips tightened. ”Both my parents fell in the line of duty and I would appreciate it if you didn’t speak of them in such a way.”

To Makoto’s surprise, Joker’s smile faltered. “I’m sorry.” he said. There was something genuine about his apologies. It felt like the exact opposite of Akechi’s dismissive words. Either this infamous pirate was far more sincere than rumor led to or he was an excellent actor. 

“I’ll accept the apology for now.” Makoto said. “I came here to ask you some questions.”

“The admiral get tired?” Joker asked. “I can tell you about a really nice bath I had at a bathhouse in New Shinjuku.”

“As charming as that sounds, I want to know why you targeted Kaneshiro.” Makoto said. “According to official records, he’s just a business owner in Tokyo. It’s not part of the Phantom Pirates’ MO to just go after someone who just does business. They’re always people that you believe have committed some crime or injustice.”

“It might be possible we found information you didn’t.” Joker offered. “And found that what he was doing was not only immoral but also not exactly legal either.”

“So not only do you have better information than the Federation,” Makoto said. “But you were doing us a service in trying to attack him.”

“Your words, not mine.” Joker offered. “We weren’t attacking him. We were going after his cargo.”

“Let me guess.” Makoto said. “Some form of contraband?”

“You could say that.” Joker replied. “If you count trafficking sentient beings as contraband.”

Sentient tracking? “The Federation has laws against any sort of trafficking. There’s no way he wouldn’t be arrested for it.”

Joker’s posture was slowly becoming less relaxed, more intense. “Not for Federation citizens, no. But when you have access to a steady stream of species not recognized as citizens? Tornians? Faenis? Aviarans? You’ve got a nice legal slave trade there.” 

“And you were… trying to free them?” Makoto asked.

“Until your sister helped him out, yeah.” Joker said. “Lovely girl, but she could have better taste in friends.”

Thinking of how much time Sae would spend with Akechi, Makoto couldn’t help but agree. “You do realize these are serious allegations, right? And that you have every reason to lie to me.”

“That’s true.” Joker said. “If I were to lie to a whiteshirt though, I’d probably find something a little better, a little less wild, a little more concretely illegal.”

Makoto felt like her heart was being ripped in two directions. This was a criminal. Of course he would lie to get out of this, to plant suspicion in her mind. At the same time, nothing about this felt right. The suddenness, the way he was locked up, even just the way a civilian was involved in this… it just didn’t feel right. 

“Let’s say I believe you.” Makoto started.

“A great start.” he said, flashing that annoyingly charming smile.

“Assuming I believe you.” she repeated. “I’d need proof to go on anything. To go to my si- the admiral about this. Can you provide any? I can’t act on suspicion alone.”

“No proof in my pockets, sadly.” Joker gestured to his tattered coats “However, there’s someone here who would.”

“You mean Kaneshiro.” Makoto said. “How would I even get that?”

“We have our own ways of doing that.” Joker said. “Not sure if they’re your style, though.”

Makoto’s eyes narrowed. “You want me to break into the private quarters of a VIP civilian?” 

“I didn’t say anything of the sort.” Joker said innocently. “I am just sure that an officer would have privileges that would get them access to places and things.”

Makoto pinched the bridge of her nose. “I should have known this was a waste of time.” she turned to leave. Then she stopped. “I’ll find out if you’re telling the truth or not. My way.”

“I hope you do.” Joker said. Makoto wasn’t sure how to feel about how sincere he sounded. 

********

Makoto was back in her quarters, sitting at the holoscreen of her terminal. Like she had said, she was going to do this her way and that involved starting with the beginning: research. Just like at the academy, everything started out with boring desk work. So Makoto started with the internet. 

She was lucky that they were currently in a sector that could access the internet via subspace frequencies. Kaneshiro was not too difficult to search once she cross referenced him with news articles about the phantom pirates. As per their modus operandi, they had announced their plans to go after one of his businesses. The note had been published publicly, though Makoto had not read it. She had been too busy with her duties as an officer. She opened it up to see the letters coming through a screen of snow. Presumably that was some effect to prevent tracking the location. She read.

_ To the self-proclaimed Humanitarian, _

_ Your businesses are a sham. They have been built off of the backs of slaves and the acts of criminals. You abuse the laws of the Federation to suit your own ends. You have terrorized countless freedom-loving species and have plundered even humanity in search of your own greed. We are not beholden to any laws. We answer to the authority of the common good and the interest of the people. And so, we will steal what you find the most precious and take your empire of crime away from you. _

  
  


Dramatic, of course. The Phantom Pirates had a reputation for flair and swashbuckling, and this message, alongside Joker’s general flirtatious demeanor confirmed a good deal of those aspects for her. They almost seemed to be treating it like a game.

“Okay.” Makoto thought out loud. “After this message, there must have been an uptick in research into Kaneshiro’s businesses and holdings. Which were many. Fortunately, there had been quite a number of articles. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t have anything concrete. Many of the articles had the same kind of information. Kaneshiro had businesses that had plenty of connections to Yakuza hotbeds. Host clubs, gambling parlors, a slew of ‘charitable institutions’ that obviously brought in more money than they gave. It was all sleazy, but none of it pointed directly to trafficking of any sentient beings.

Until she found an article by an Ichiko Ohya. The publication itself hadn’t been the most reputable, but once Makoto read the article she realized that had nothing to do with the reporter’s skill. It seemed more like someone wanted this article buried. 

**Kaneshiro’s Hidden Empire**

Recently the activities of the phantom pirates were turned towards businessman and philanthropist Junya Kaneshiro. While the boast of the Phantom Pirates made claims that alluded to fraud, abuse, and even sentient trafficking, many officials dismissed these as the rationalizations of a group of bandits. Many other publications have dismissed these allegations due to threats of censure from the Federation for spreading baseless rumors. However, upon further searching, this publication has found discrepancies in numerous tax reports, as well as tax shelters that led to planets not affiliated with the Federation. Though this reporter was unable to find port to any of the planets on Kaneshiro’s roster, numerous ships to the planet were found and interviewed. Many were evasive, unable for comment, but almost all were unregistered…

Makoto kept reading. This was the closest thing she had to proof. A single article made on a tabloid website. The writing and the backup was solid though. Did she have enough to go to the Captain or Sae about this? No, of course she didn’t. 

She rubbed her temples. Dammit, Joker was right. She would have to find proof herself. She would have to look into Kaneshiro personally. She would have to ask for a meeting with him. Maybe glean what she could through a conversation or find something in his quarters. 

Makoto held her breath as she put in a request to speak with Kaneshiro.

*****

Later that night, Makoto was sitting in Kaneshiro’s quarters in professional-looking clothes that weren’t her uniform. She had thought up an entire line of questioning for Kaneshiro that would hopefully get some information, something she could bring to Sae to convince her that he also needed to be thoroughly investigated. It wasn’t the best plan, but time was short. They would be leaving this ship as soon as they made port at the local Ganymede station. So, she had to improvise. Something she had never been good at.

Kaneshiro sat back lazily on the couch, facing Makoto with only a coffee table between them. Something about the leering smile he gave her set the hairs on her skin up. It was almost the opposite of the way Joker had smiled at her. His smile was warm and inviting. Kaneshiro’s was… invasive. Makoto pushed her thoughts away as she faced him.

“So what brings such a promising lady to my quarters?” Kaneshiro asked, putting an undue emphasis on the word ‘lady’. “And why don’t you smile? We’re here to have a good time.”

Makoto didn’t take the bait. “Well, truth be told, Mr. Kaneshiro.” she said, giving her best pleasant job interview voice. She hadn’t had to do this since her application for the Federation Academy. “I’ve been looking for some new work. I’ve heard that you’re looking to expand. I think you could use someone like me.” 

“Oh?” Kaneshiro’s leering grin didn’t leave. “What’s a bright young girl like you doing, leaving behind a promising career in the military?”

_ Girl _ . Everyone looked down on her. At least here, the feeling was mutual, though for her part there was some revulsion included as well.

“Unfortunately, it was not as promising as one might think.” Makoto replied. “I was recently overturned for a captainship. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how much more of a future I have here. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life simply being a Lt. Commander on a small science ship, after all.” The best lies, Makoto knew, were the ones that were the closest to the truth. That way there was less to keep track of. 

Kaneshiro nodded sagely. “Wouldn’t you have trouble getting out of your terms of duty?” 

“My sister is well connected. I’m sure she could arrange for me to have a speedy and uneventful transfer. She’s hinted that she wants me out of harm’s way.” Makoto explained. Again, not a lie. “Besides, I’m sure someone of your connections could help me even if that weren’t the case.” 

Kaneshiro’s smile flickered for a moment. “Oh, you know about my businesses?” 

“I always do research on people I want to work with, Mr. Kaneshiro.” Makoto said, keeping her voice even and pleasant. “Like I said, I’m looking for something outside of what my usual career is. Far outside and away from prying eyes. Say perhaps even outside of the Federation?” 

Kaneshiro didn’t bother to keep up his smile at that point. Makoto did her best to keep her smile up and seem unfazed, despite the fact that klaxons were going off in her head. Had she pushed too far too fast?

“You have done quite a bit of research, haven’t you Ms. Niijima?” Kaneshiro said. “Impressive indeed. You’re smarter than the jarheads we usually deal with.” It didn’t sound like a compliment. 

Makoto could still salvage this. “My talents are being wasted here.” she confirmed. “I could be very useful for you. Figuring things out, finding things, or even making sure things aren’t found. Maybe even people.”

Kaneshiro grinned. “You know, I could use someone like that.” Kaneshiro said. “Someone who was smart and capable, and not too concerned with bending the rules.” He leaned forward, pulling out a small tablet. He turned it on as its holographic transmitter came to life. Makoto’s heart skipped a beat when she saw what was on it.

It was a holographic recording of her speaking with Joker.

“I have the audio on here too, but I’m sure you don’t need to hear it. After all, you were there.” Kaneshiro said. “And before you ask, yes. I’m also recording the conversation right now.”

Makoto’s composure failed her as she leaned back, feeling her face drop. Kaneshiro’s leering grin returned to his face. He stood up and came closer to Makoto. She instinctively pushed up to get further from him, but the two guards grabbed her and pushed her down. In a fair fight, she would have been able to take them down even fighting together, but she had been in a relaxed position until now. She couldn’t move or get any leverage from the chair. Fortunately, they seemed only concerned with restraining her, not with hurting her.

“I’ve stopped the recording now, by the way.” Kaneshiro said. “I don’t know what you have against me or why you’re conspiring with the pirate. What I do know is I don’t like nosy brats who think they’re smarter than me.” he leaned close enough for Makoto to be able to smell his putrid breath. “However, you were right about one thing. I could use someone with your skills. So tell you what. I’m going to give you a job. Your first assignment is to get your admiral’s information. A full roster of military and police routes. Places they are and aren’t looking. Places where I can keep doing my operations.”

Makoto glared at him, her crimson eyes boiling. “And if I refuse?” she asked, knowing full well what the answer was. Still, her priority right now was defiance. 

“Both of these recordings go to your captain.” Kaneshiro said. “I’m not sure what they’ll get you on. Treason, conspiracy, attempted desertion. It could be any of those things. What I do know is it will end you. Even if you don’t get a cell on Ganymede, you’ll never be able to even fly public transport as a passenger, let alone that fancy fighter of yours.

“Now if you are a good girl and do as you’re told I’ll treat you very…  _ very  _ well.” Makoto’s skin crawled again. She wanted to punch his lights out more than anything, but even if she was able to wrest free, he still held her future in his hands. “I’m quite good to the women in my employ. We’ll be arriving at the Saturn outpost in… how long, Tsukasa?“

“43 hours, sir.” said one of the guards.

“Excellent.” Kaneshiro said. “Bring me the reports I want by then or it will be my duty as a citizen to share these recordings with your captain. Congratulations, kiddo. You’ve got the job.” 

Kaneshiro turned away with a smug sneer as Makoto was escorted out. She kept herself as calm as she possibly could until she got until her quarters, then started quietly repeating to herself. 

“What do I do, what do I do, whatdoido?” she said. Within the span of twenty minutes, she had managed to ruin her own life now. She hadn’t even actually gotten any proof. Certainly, Kaneshiro had just as good as admitted that he was doing all the illegal activities that Joker had accused him of, but nothing he had said even off the record confirmed it. And now she was being blackmailed with her career, her entire life being threatened against her.

Sae’s words came back to her. She could never just leave well enough alone, she always had to stick her nose in where it didn’t belong, couldn’t just follow orders. Sae was right. Makoto was a terrible soldier. She hadn’t even managed to hack it as an undercover inspector. 

_ But I’ll sooner fly my ship into a black hole than let that bastard use me to hurt people. _ A part of her said. And it was true. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she was sure as hell not going to give some two-bit gangster what he wanted. 

At the same time she couldn’t go to Sae or Akechi. It was absolutely true that she had been speaking to Joker without permission, and that she was trying to go after Kaneshiro with his information. Sae and Akechi would not side with her, especially when Kaneshiro was technically in the legal right. No one else on this ship was going to vouch for her either. Her career had come first and making friends never, especially not on a mostly male ship that seemed intimidated by an intelligent woman who could beat them senseless. The only person that Makoto could reasonably go to and expect to be helped by was…

  
  


“Oh, black suns…” 

*******

Joker was fiddling with his chains again when Makoto came in, her uniform on again and trying to be as stiff as possible. 

“You were right.” Makoto said.

“I always am.” Joker said. “Did you find the evidence you needed?” It seemed like Joker already knew the answer. 

“No.” Makoto admitted. “He caught what I was trying to do, plus he has footage of me talking to you. He’s blackmailing now…” the next words that came out of her mouth were some of the hardest things she’d ever have to say, let alone to a stranger. “I… I need help.”

Joker nodded. “Convenient because so do I.” Joker said. There was an awkward pause there. “You’re feeling stupid right now. Like you did something that ended your life. You can’t believe you’re coming to an actual pirate for help.”

Makoto tensed at that. It didn’t feel like he was insulting her. Instead it just seemed like he was saying how she was feeling. Understanding it. “...Yes.” she admitted.

“Think how the guy in the brig feels.” Joker said. “That’s what people like Kaneshiro do. They go after the vulnerable, they take advantage of people doing the right thing, and they use people’s refusal to do the same against them. They also mistake that for cleverness. Kaneshiro’s also not dumb but he’s not as smart as he thinks he is, and neither of us are as dumb as he thinks we are. He just happened to be more prepared than either of us this time.”

Joker’s shackles then fell to the floor. He rubbed on his wrists as he continued, not even allowing Makoto to ask how long he was able to do that. “He thinks we’re helpless and we have no way out.” Joker said. “But there’s always a way, which gives us an advantage. So how about this. You help me break out of here, and I help you get away.”

Joker the phantom pirate was asking her to help him break out. “You think I want to escape?” she asked.

“I know things have to be bad for people to come to me.” Joker said. “It always is. The people I go after always make sure it’s like that for people.”

“So you just want to help me out of the goodness of your heart, then?” Makoto said. “What, will you set me up on some apprenticeship or something and help me change my name while I kiss my old life goodbye?”

“Well, I’m helping you so I can get out of jail too.” Joker replied. “Also, if you wanted, after this, I could offer you a job.”

Makoto blinked. The notorious space pirate was… offering her a job? “Just like that? You’re asking me to break you out and help you escape and offering me a job? No worry if I’m… some sort of spy or something?”

“I’m an excellent judge of character.” Joker replied. “And you don’t strike me as much of a liar.”

Makoto couldn’t deny that. She had never been one for deception, as today had proven. This was all happening so quickly, but if there was any other way, she wouldn’t have been here asking for Joker’s help. 

Besides, did she even want to be here? Maybe that was why she came here. She needed to get out. She didn’t know what she was doing here in the military and didn’t know much about Joker himself, but she knew that whatever Sae was doing, working with Kaneshiro wasn’t right. Maybe what Joker was doing was right either, but she could only find that one one.

“I don’t know if I’m that good a judge of character.” Makoto said. “I don’t know if I’m a judge of anything, really. I never decided to. Not until now. I think for the first time in my life, I’m ready to make a judgment.”

“And what is your judgment then?” his question wasn’t sarcastic or smug. It was genuine.

“That there’s no one here I can trust, but if I was going to trust someone here… I would want it to be you.” Makoto said. “I don’t know what I’m doing after this, but I know I need to make a stand.”

Makoto leaned forward and pushed her security clearance into the console. The invisible force field keeping the galaxy’s most notorious criminal was gone and he was free.

And Makoto’s life in the Federation was over.

“I have a small personal ship. It’s a one person vehicle, so it will be a little cramped.” 

Joker sauntered out of the cell. “Can’t be as uncomfortable as that cell. How do we get there without guards?”

“I dismissed the guards watching over you. I know a route that’s rarely used. Worse comes to worst,” Makoto pulled out and handed an energy blaster to him. “Use this.”

“You’re trusting me with a weapon?” Joker asked.

“I’ve locked it on stun.” Makoto said. “And my ship is coded to my DNA. If you try to knock me out and steal my ship, you’ll just be stopped at the hangar and go back in the cell.”

“Trusting but not stupid.” Joker nodded approvingly. “Lead the way.”

And with that, Makoto’s life of crime began.


	3. Breaking Out of Here Tonight

There really wasn’t ‘night’ in space in the traditional sense humans had, but humans did still have general habits that they followed. By Earth GST, it was now three in the morning and the  _ Crow _ was operating on a skeleton crew at the moment and some parts of the ship were just not in use. Fortunately, this made things easy for the second in command to make her way through the ship, going through quiet hallways and out of empty elevators. 

The one trouble was the hangar. Guards would still be there. That didn’t mean Makoto didn’t have a plan. Well, sort of a plan.

“Take your clothes off.” Makoto said once they had come to her quarters. 

“My, Ms. Niijima. How forward. But shouldn’t you buy me dinner first?” asked Joker.

It took a moment for Makoto to realize what he meant before turning bright red. “Th-that’s… I need you to put on a flight uniform!” she said, throwing the uniform at him.

“Now I’m just disappointed.” he responded. Joker seemed to be quite enjoying seeing her blush, which unfortunately was only causing the blushing to get worse. “Turn around and no peeking now.”

Was it possible for this much blood to go to a person’s cheeks? Makoto was sure they should have burst at this point.

“Take this seriously!” she said as she turned around and heard him shuffling his . “We’re trying to escape here.” 

“And a good thing to do under stressful situations is to keep calm.” Joker said, sounding like he was agreeing with her. “Which is again, why I don’t want you peeking. Can’t have you being all flustered.”

Was he always like this? Even though they could be shot on sight, he was busy joking and… flirting? Was she reading this right? The last time someone had flirted with Makoto was… well, never. Some guys had initially shown interest in her initially but had quickly lost interest, maybe because she was too intellectual or too standoffish or too powerful. Yet here this man was-

Makoto cut off those thoughts. This wasn’t the time and the last thing she needed to be worried about even when things calmed down was the amorous feelings of a space pirate. She needed to focus on getting out of here and finding the truth about Kaneshiro. 

Joker took what felt like too long to change but she knew was only a moment. She would only have to hope that Kaneshiro wasn’t watching her here. He already would have footage of her letting Joker out now. She just hoped she could get out before he had seen it. Makoto doubted he had someone watching 24/7. He seemed too confident to be keeping continual tabs on her, but she needed to work fast and not risk it.

“Let’s make our way to the hangar.” Makoto said. “Keep careful, be ready to use your blaster, and keep in mind it’s locked to stun. Don’t even try to use lethal force.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Joker said. He sounded sincere. Of course, maybe that was on purpose. Maybe he was just lulling her.

“Keep close and keep quiet.” Makoto said. “If anyone sees you, they probably won’t look past the flight suit, so please be quiet for five minutes.”

“Now there’s a tall order, but if it’s to save our lives, I guess I can do that…” Joker said with mock resignation.

_ Don’t give him the satisfaction, it will only encourage him. _ Makoto thought. She gestured to the door. “Come on.” 

They went on and Joker followed as they walked swiftly but calmly towards the hangar. A few other crewmen passed them, the few still up at this hour. Everyone on the ship knew what the Lt. Commander looked like, if not knew her personally, and generally wouldn’t question her being in her flight uniform, even with a new recruit in tow. So the people would simply let her pass without comment, though some would take the time to offer her a salute. To Joker’s credit he was quiet about it and kept his head down, his fluffy hair pushed to obscure his face. It was almost like looking at a completely different person. Seeing him act like this made her realize, at least a little bit, how he had become a master of infiltration and thievery. Gone was the grandiose swashbuckler that was talking with him, replaced by a shy boy simply minding his own business. Makoto had to remind herself that it was still another reason that she should be careful around Joker. Still, he had more over Akechi or Sae. He actually listened to her. 

After a short but still too long trip, they made their way back to the hangar. Sae’s personal ship loomed over the area like a grim god. Makoto walked forward with a professional demeanor to the quartermaster. 

“Hello, sergeant.” she said, making quick note of his uniform. “We’re here to do a sweep.”

The sergeant nodded absent-mindedly, looking at his datapad. “I’m… not seeing any reports for any reconnaissance missions for a one-manned vehicle.”

Of course there weren’t. Makoto was planning a jailbreak after all. She had planned for this. Now it was time to try and see if she had learned anything from her disaster with Kaneshiro. 

“Listen,” she said, sounding nervous. Fortunately, she didn’t have to act too hard, as her heart was racing. “The ensign’s a new recruit and he and I met a bit ago. I was hoping to uh… show him the stars…” the sergeant seemed to not be understanding her at all, so she leaned and whispered. “In private.”

Makoto hoped her face didn’t look as red as the sergeant’s was suddenly becoming. “O-oh!” he said.

“Exactly.” Makoto said. “This is something of a private affair, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let anyone know about it. This has been a stressful time for me.”

“O-of course, Lt. Commander.” he said. “I never thought I’d see the day when you would find someone.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t think about me at all.” Makoto responded, stiffly. She didn’t know this man, but as second in command, she was well-known across the ship, as was her ‘cold fish’ personality. It always upset her how these people would talk about her, even if her professionalism didn’t allow her to show it. They weren’t her friends, nor did they ever try to be. What right did they have to judge her personal life?

“Y-yes, ma’am.” he said. 

“Follow me, ensign.” Makoto said. Joker meekly followed. 

They both started walking to  _ Johnanna _ , almost scot free when everything went to hell.

“Attention all decks!” came an announcement. “Attention all decks! The criminal Joker has escaped his holding cell. All on alert!”

The sergeant turned to look at the two of them and Makoto froze. Fortunately, Joker did not. A stun bolt came from his disruptor and sent the man to the ground unconscious. Makoto turned to Joker who spun the pistol around like a cowboy of the ancient west before holstering it. Makoto didn’t even bother to respond to him as she went over to the controls. The magnetic shields were still up. And they were code-locked. Makoto was about to put in her personal override code when the announcement went on.

“Lt. Commander Niijima is suspected to have aided and abetted Joker’s escape and as such should be expected to be apprehended as well.” the announcement added. 

Those words seemed to mock her as she attempted to punch in her code, which of course was denied. They had immediately revoked her rank and access privileges. Makoto had known that this was going to happen, but was shocked at how quickly it did. 

“Get to my ship!” Makoto shouted, pointing to it. 

Joker nodded, following the now former military woman “Okay, but how are we getting out of here with the mag shield still in place?” 

Makoto didn’t answer but bounded towards her ship. She keyed in her code and the cockpit opened. “Get in!” Joker bounded after her, crouching into the small compartment behind her seat. Even before she had formulated the plan, she knew that the single-person fighter wasn’t going to be comfortable, but she didn’t really appreciate it until she was sitting with a man’s thin knees digging into her back through the thin cockpit seat. Joker’s face was even uncomfortably close to hers, she could even feel his breath on her cheek. She suddenly became incredibly aware of the fact that this was the closest a man had even been to her physically. Heat came to her cheeks at the thought, which she hoped Joker wasn’t noticing. 

_ Focus! _ She berated herself. Right now she had to get out of here if she didn’t want to face a court martial… or worse. She powered up her ship. There was something soothing about seeing her console light up, the shit controls activate. At least some things in her small universe were still dependable. Even the whine of the thrusters soothed her constant nerves.

“Okay, I notice you still haven’t answered my previous question.” Joker said. He worked to keep his tone jovial, but even Makoto could notice his teeming anxiety. “We’ve got an activated ship in a hangar, and the mag field is still closed off.” 

Makoto didn’t answer. She needed to keep her mind clear for this. She swiveled the gun turrets around, keeping her eyes on her ship’s targeting console until she found what she was looking for: The terminal connecting to the hangar’s power generator. She gripped harder onto the control sticks and pulled on the trigger. Pulse beams hit onto the console, and it didn’t explode like in some holodrama, but rather simply caught fire and and shorted out. It completed the job it was supposed to do, deactivating the mag-lock. It wouldn’t be on for long. Ten seconds before the safety power re-routed to it. It was quick enough to prevent anyone stuck on the hanger during an accident to be sucked into the vacuum of space, but it was also more than enough time for Makoto to do what she wanted to. She hit the thrusters and charged at top sub-light speed out of the ship. 

The ship roared as she felt the G-force hitting her, and she shook in her seat, not having time to apply the safety restraints. Joker himself fell back with a grunt, not that there was much further back to go. The moments of gravity resistance only lasted a few painfully long seconds as they came into space.

“Okay, that answers that question.” Joker said, trying to sound flippant, but Makoto could hear the strain in his voice. “”Bit of a surprise there.”

“You’ll find I’m full of them.” Makoto said slyly. It felt good to get a response towards him after all his teasing.

“They’re probably going to send people after us.” Joker said. 

“They definitely are.” Makoto said. “We don’t have a lot of fighters on the  _ Crow _ but we have a few others. We have maybe a few minutes to get away.” Then Makoto’s sensors picked up three fighters coming in on her quickly. Very quickly. “Or less.”

Makoto punched the thrusters as they charged after her and they picked up speed as well. Then a pinging noise went off on her ship. Of course, she was being hailed. She didn’t have the time to turn off her subspace radio. Or the administrative override. That was when to her side, Sae’s face came on the screen. 

“Makoto, what the hell are you doing?” Sae’s voice was even and firm, which Makoto knew that she was ready to start screaming if not for the lower command watching her. “You’re aiding the escape of a dangerous criminal!”

“Unlike you?” Makoto asked as she juked left from one of the shots being fired. It was an ion cannon, meant simply to disable her ship. So they weren’t using kill shots on her. Yet. “Sis, that’s a Yakuza member you’ve got on your ship! Trust me, he’s more dangerous than a single pirate!”

“I am not having this discussion while you evade authorities!” Sae responded, her anger showing through. “If you don’t turn around instantly and turn yourself in, I’m authorizing them to use lethal force!”

All three ships fired at once and Makoto dipped to avoid their attacks. She had to depend on the sensors to tell her when attacks were incoming and having her own sister yelling at her was beginning to become distracting. 

“You’d kill your own sister?” Makoto said over the sensor notifying her of more incoming projectiles. And even more. Idiots, they were frantic in their firing, they were endangering their own squadmates as much as they were her. Sae’s orders must have made them jumpy.

“I will not let you having a temper tantrum endanger my-”

“Joker, can you turn that off?” Makoto said, not even listening to her anymore. She was too concerned with avoiding their hits which might be full pulse rounds now.

“Uhhh… how?” Joker said, limply moving his arm from its limited position. He couldn’t even reach the console as confined as he was.

Makoto sighed before slamming her elbow into the console as hard as she could. “Don’t” was the last word of Sae’s she’d heard before her slam had completely demolished the console. 

A moment later the fire after her was getting more intense, and yes they were firing pulse rounds now. Sae had ordered lethal force. Makoto pushed her thrusters as hard as she could, no sound coming from them like they had within the ship. The silence of space, usually a comfort, was painfully haunting right now, reminding her of the abyss that would be her grave if they got her.

But, as Akechi had told her earlier, she was the best pilot on the ship and they were not. 

She turned her  _ Johanna’s _ engines off completely. This being space, a frictionless environment, she didn’t stop or even slow, but the other fighters shot past her. While she had turned off her engines, her weapons were still fully operational. As if on instinct, Makoto fired off three shots from her ion cannons, each hitting their mark immediately. Makoto watched as each of their ships failed in everything except life support, flying off in the approximate direction they had been aiming, the void of space welcoming them. The  _ Crow  _ would pick them up. Right now, Makoto had to get the hell out of here. She turned on her engines again,  _ Johanna _ making a few groans at being abused so badly. After a few seconds, she was far out of the sight of the ships, flying aimlessly through the black.

“So we got away.” Joker pointed out. “For now. But unless this thing has lightspeed functionality, they’re going to get up on us again really fast.”

“It does. I installed it myself when I first got it/” Makoto said. She had at least thought that far ahead. “Before I make a lightspeed jump, I need to disable the tracker. All Federation ships have them. Move over.”

“If I move any more, my head is going to be inside the ship’s dilithium reactor.” Joker responded. 

“I need to get under my console and access the computer so I can pull out the tracker.” Makoto said, her tone even. “I can’t do that unless you make room for me to get down.” She stood up a little until her head was against the top of the cockpit and gently turned around to nudge him back. Joker instinctively leaned back, but ended up awkwardly stumbling within the small space of the ship. He ended up kicking the back of the seat, sending it falling backwards. Makoto, who was leaning on the seat’s back, also fell forward. Right onto Joker.

Face to face, less than a centimeter in distance between them, and barely any room to move between them. Her eyes were looking straight into his dark grey eyes, their noses almost touching. Makoto was so shocked by the close contact, she was rendered silent. She tried to make a noise but it only came out as a small squeak. 

“Red eyes.” Joker noted hazily. 

“What?” Makoto said, the comment managed to drag words out of her. 

“Red eyes.” he repeated. “We were so concerned with the escape I didn’t notice until now. They’re very nice.”

“I-” Makoto was back to being lost for words for a minute. “Would you just let me move please? I need to-”she grunted, shifting off of Joker and working her best not to make too much physical contact with him. It wasn’t very successful, but it was also more frustrating than embarrassing (not that it wasn’t that as well) as they bumped elbows against knees and heads against feet.

Finally, Makoto was able to get to her console from beneath and began pulling from beneath.

“Do you know how to work on these?” Joker asked. 

“I’m not exactly an engineer.” Makoto explained as she pulled at wires. “But I always felt it was important to know how my ship worked just in case of an emergency. If I get stranded on a random moon or whatever. Plus, I wanted to make some random modifications to my ship. Stuff I felt that would make it… well…” Makoto struggled to find the words for what she wanted out of her ship. 

“Yours.” Joker said. “You lived on a Federation ship where everything was someone else’s property. You wanted something that was yours.”

Makoto looked up from beneath the console. Joker looked somewhat comical with his face right next to her feet, but his face wasn’t grinning or sarcastic. Honestly, it looked somewhat soft.

“Yes.” Makoto said. “That was... very well put. A little too well put, honestly.”

“Let’s just say that I have experience in having no control over my life.” Joker admitted.

“And that’s why you became a phantom pirate?” Makoto asked. The insanity of the day was hitting her now. Here she was, running from a life in jail and having a heart-to-heart with one of the galaxy’s most notorious criminals.

“Among other reasons.” Joker admitted. “I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to get broken out by the sister of the woman who caught me.”

“You might have noticed, but Sa- Admiral Nijima and I are hardly close.” Makoto said. She gave a grunt as she pulled at another wire. “Five years in the academy, another two in service… all gone because I had to know about a crime lord on my ship. There must be something seriously wrong with me.”

“Or,” Joker offered. “There’s something wrong with the universe, that it would put you in a situation like that after all this time.” 

“That’s easy to say.” Makoto said. “But it’s the universe we live in. We have to work within it.”

“Or we could change it.” Joker offered. “Show the universe that it can be better and do better.”

“Is that what you phantom pirates do?” Makoto asked. “Try and make the universe better?”

“It’s what you just tried to do.” Joker said. “When you saved me.”

“What, you’re saying I should join you and become a phantom pirate?” Makoto asked. Then she paused and looked at Joker, incredulity plain on her face. “Black suns, you really are saying I should join you and become a phantom pirate. Joker, I’m a Federation officer!”

“I’m pretty sure you’re not a federation officer anymore.” he said. “Besides, we could definitely use someone with your skill. Getting them to shoot past you, killing the engine like that? Don’t think I’ve seen anyone fly like that.”

“It was a desperate, frankly unwise move.” Makoto said. “The strain it put on my engines is something I’m going to have to fix now. Might need to even replace parts… though with what money I don’t know.”

For the moment, Makoto was pushing the fact that she was a fugitive to the back of her mind. As long as she had something to do, the enormity of what she had just done wouldn’t crush her. She thought about the logistics of it, where to get money, what she was going to do. Better to look forward than back for now. 

“My offer hasn’t changed from an hour ago. We’ve got a spare room on our ship and our crew is made entirely of people who make desperate, unwise moves.” Joker said. 

“Like getting caught?” Makoto offered. 

“And breaking criminals out.” Joker responded. “Look at it this way. At the moment you have nowhere else to go. You clearly thought I was trustworthy enough to break out of jail. Why not enough to join my crew?”

A good question. The fact was, despite the past few hours, Makoto absolutely did not think of herself as a criminal. If she had agreed to join up with Joker’s crew, then she was admitting to herself completely that she wasn’t just doing something because she thought it was right, she was actively opposing the law. The law that she had spent her entire life in allegiance to and working to uphold. 

“Because I don’t know if I’d want it?” Makoto said. “Because I’m already spending my life on the run? Because I think you’re really weird?”

“Tell you what.” Joker said. “You need a place to stay and keep under the radar until you figure out what to do. What’s the alternative? Drop me off and then fly around aimlessly until you run out of fuel? I’m offering you a free place to sleep here. I don’t see what the problem is.”

Makoto didn’t like getting things handed to her was the problem. She had spent her entire life working on her own so that people didn’t think her position was due to her father and sister. Of course, that had backfired spectacularly. She was always the sister of Admiral Niijima. 

“Now I’m not even that.” she said out loud. For some reason, saying that actually made her feel better. Not actually better, but at least more clear. “So are you really in the market for a pilot?”

“We have one at the moment, and she’s a phenomenal navigator.” Joker said. “But she’s got nothing on you as a pilot. Plus, someone who knows how the Federation works would be a great asset as well.” 

Makoto finally pulled out the tracker, a small chip connected to the ship’s navigation system. She briefly considered shattering it, but ultimately decided that it would be better to hold onto it, maybe sell it for a few credits of scrap if she had to. How much did Federation tech bring on the black market? Heck, how did you even sell something on the black market?

Makoto hated to admit it, but she needed help.

“If I do join the phantom pirates, I’m not killing anyone.” she said. 

“We don’t kill.” Joker said, immediately and firmly. “We fight, and we protect our lives, but we’re not killers.”

Makoto believed him. Once again, she was shocked by his sincerity. He might share a type of joviality with Akechi, but his smiles always actually reached those mischievous eyes of his, and more importantly, he was willing to drop it. 

“I don’t want to steal either…” Makoto said. “Don’t tell me you don’t do that too.”

“Oh no, we steal all the time.” Joker explained. “But trust me, the people we steal don’t miss it.”

“Rob from the rich and steal from the poor?” Makoto asked. “That old cliche?”

“Well, if by the poor you mean us, then yes.” Joker said. “We do try to help other people though.”

“So you’re noble outlaws, is that right?” Makoto asked. “Everyone who breaks the law justifies it. They say the law is wrong, but who is it to decide that?”

“Certainly not the people who make it.” Joker said. “Not the people who put you in this situation.”

Makoto sighed. “It looks like I don’t have any choice, do I?” Makoto said. “I’m a phantom pirate now.”

“There’s always a choice.” Joker said. “It’s one of the first things you learn. But trust me, even if you said no, I wouldn’t leave the woman who saved my life high and dry like that.” 

Makoto nodded, she shifted back up and readjusted the seat of her fighter. “So where are we going? Some hidden paradise planet? An abandoned space station?”

“Man, I wish it was something that cool.” Joker said. “No, it’s just a small ship. We’ve got room for your fighter, but it’s going to be more cramped than you’re used to. Little dirtier too. But you won’t meet a better crew than my phantom pirates.”

The image of space pirates flashed through Makoto’s mind. Ragged men with poor hygiene and dirty clothing getting into pointless fights and drunk off their rears. Makoto couldn’t see herself fitting in with those kinds of people. Then again, Joker hardly fulfilled her image of a pirate either. She sat up, pulling up her hyperdrive coordinates. 

“Alright, captain.” Makoto said, offering a sly emphasis on the word ‘captain’. “Tell me our destination.”

  
The  _ Johanna _ wordlessly passed into hyperspace flying towards Joker’s ship.


	4. Of Curry and Crews

According to Joker, the name of his ship was the  _ Leblanc. _ Makoto didn’t know the exact origin of the name, but didn’t ask at the moment. Ship names could be personal and Joker hadn’t asked the reason she had named  _ Johanna _ after all. Joker’s ship was currently hiding off the edge of an unnamed solar system, away from any registered space routes. That was the thing about space pirates that made them so frustrating for the Federation. Space was so big that hiding in it was immensely easy. 

After punching in the coordinates and about an hour in hyperspace, the  _ Johanna  _ came upon the  _ Leblanc. _ Joker hadn’t been kidding about it being not as fancy as the  _ Crow _ . It was significantly smaller and significantly older. Whereas the  _ Crow _ had a slick factory commission, the  _ Leblanc _ was an uneven ship, the kind that had been repaired time and again, modified again and again until its original model was almost indiscernible. Some spacefarers jokingly called ships like that Theseuses after the old logic puzzle. Technically speaking, an excess of modifications was illegal in hopes to prevent the confusion of unregistered ships. Of course, most pirates didn’t worry about such laws since if they got caught, they would have to worry about far worse than fines for illegal ship modifications.

“They’re hailing us.” Makoto said. “I’ll let you do the talking.”

“Will do.” Joker said as Makoto accepted the hail. Makoto had somewhat repaired the broken communicator during the hyperdrive jump. It wasn’t a perfect fix. She wouldn’t be listening to music at the highest quality through these speakers, but they should be able to talk with someone just fine.

“Unidentified ship, identify yourself!” came a somewhat raspy woman’s voice. “You’re in official airspace that is restricted.” The voice was crackled through Makoto’s janky transceiver. She had made repairs that she could during the hyperspace jump, but there was only so much that could fix blunt physical damage.

“It’s me, Oracle.” Joker said. 

“Joker?” came the voice. “You’re alive! We all thought you were dead.”

“Often almost, but never actually.” Joker said. “I had some help. I’ll fill you in later. I’ve got company, too. A new crew member, potentially.”

“O-oh… a new person?” Oracle’s voice became more shaky at that. “Okay. I’ll start letting you board in.” 

“See you all in a minute.” Joker confirmed. 

Joker guided her to the ship bay of  _ Leblanc. _ There was no comparison in size. While the  _ Crow _ could hold nearly a hundred smaller crafts, this ship barely had enough room three. Fortunately, there only seemed to be one other fighter in the bay, so Makoto was able to land it easily. It was also not as clean as the  _ Crow _ . While not terribly unhygienic, there were still areas that had dust or a bit of dirt as opposed to the constant antiseptic feeling of a military bay. As the hatch popped, Joker pulled up and leapt out faster than Makoto could, clearly eager to stretch his legs. Makoto followed him more calmly, but she too was happy to be able to get out of the craft. While it technically had hyperdrive capability, it wasn’t built for long-term travel. Makoto had never considered it to be used for escaping or going any serious distance.

_ Then why did you install FTL on it _ ? A voice in her head asked. She pushed it away. 

There was another man in the bay to greet Joker. He was also tall and lanky, but dressed simply and elegantly. “Ren, thank goodness. We had feared the worst.”

Ren? Was that his real name? Makoto hadn’t bothered to ask, hadn’t even thought of Joker having another name, even though in retrospect it was obvious that he had to have one. And parents. And a family. Where were they? 

Joker -or Ren- gripped hands with the lanky man and they gave one of those firm handshakes men always did when they greeted each other.

“Niijima-san, let me introduce you to the ship’s engineer, Yusukue Kitagawa.” he said. “Yusuke, this is Makoto Niijima, the woman who broke me out. She’s gonna be staying with us for a bit.” 

Yusuke turned to her. “Ah, then it appears we owe you a debt of gratitude.” he said. “Welcome to our ship.” 

“How’s the girl been doing in my absence?” Ren said, gesturing towards the ship. 

“She took some damage during the escape.” Yusuke said. “But nothing a resupply won’t fix. We’ll need to stop off at Janus for supplies though.”

“Your paintings survive?” Ren asked, which elicited a wince from Yusuke. 

“Most of them.” he said. “Unfortunately one did get knocked over and ripped in half. I was thinking that one would sell decently.”

So they stole art, Makoto mused. From museums, maybe? Or private collectors? 

“On that subject,” Yusuke turned towards Makoto and to her surprise, he clasped her hand. “It has been a long time since we’ve had such a new vision of beauty. If you would allow it Niijima-san, would you do me the honor of painting you? Even looking at you, I feel my muse returning! Would you please do me this honor?”

Makoto was shocked into silence. Her first coherent thought was  _ I don’t believe I’ve ever been spoken to like this before _ . Before she could respond, Joker slapped his hands away.

“Maybe give the beautiful woman a bit of time to acclimate before you ask her to pose nude for you.” Ren said. Every word of that sentence made Makoto’s cheek flush redder and redder. “We’ve got to get her used to this place, and meet the rest of the crew.”

“Ah, of course. My apologies.” Yusuke said. “It’s simply that with as hectic as time has been with the damage to the ship and us trying to find you, I haven’t been able to work on my art. Apologies, Niijima-san. I will ask at a later date.”

_ Please don’t.  _ She thought. Between Joker’s flirting and Yusuke’s forwardness, were all the people on this ship going to be like this?

“Let’s introduce you to the rest of the crew.” Ren said. “Maybe you should take a look at this ship, see if you can repair it.”

“Wait, no!” Makoto said. “I’ll work on it later myself. It’s fine.” She purposely avoided saying  _ It’s mine.  _

“Very well.” Yusuke said. “However, I would like to take a look at it at some point, if only to know what to get for supplies.”

“We can go over it later together.” Makoto said, though she was somewhat unnerved by this man’s… everything.

“Sounds splendid.” Yusuke said. “And welcome to  _ Leblanc _ , Niijima-san.”

Ren guided her away from the bay and into the ship’s halls. “Let’s make for the cafe. You can meet the rest of my crew there.”

“You have a cafe?” Makoto asked.

“I just think the word has more personality than ‘mess hall’.” he clarified. 

There was a moment of silence before Makoto spoke up again. “So... Ren?” 

“Ren Amamiya.” he explained. “That’s my real name, inasmuch any name can be real.” 

“Is this like a superhero thing?” she asked. “Hide your real identity to protect your family?”

Ren shook his head. “Nah. If anything, my family would gladly turn me in if they had the chance.”

“Oh.” Makoto said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” he said. “They’re lightyears away. The code name is just because… well, it sounds cool. More people remember Captain Blackbeard than Captain Edward Teach after all. Everyone here has one. Yusuke when he’s out on a mission goes by Fox.”

“So do I need some kind of name like that if I stay here?” Joker asked. 

“If you want. It would probably be bad idea to use the Niijima name now though.” Joker came to the lift and punched at a button. No voice control, Makoto noted. She knew that this ship wasn’t going to be particularly advanced but still. It must have been ancient. The trip was largely quiet until they got to the cafe. 

To Makoto’s surprise, the term ended up being immensely apt. The mess hall of the  _ Crow _ had a very standard look, but this did seem like a cozy like coffee shop. There was a wooden bar with comfortable chairs and booths. It had… atmosphere. It even smelled strongly of coffee beans and curry. 

Makoto’s stomach gurgled in response to the smells. She realized that she hadn’t eaten in nearly an entire day, a fact put off from her mind due to the impending danger. Now realizing it, she felt weak and woozy.

“Sojiro!” Ren called out. “Good to see you.”

“So you didn’t die this time either.” There was a middle-age man with receding hairline, bushy beard and thick glasses behind the desk. “And you brought company it seems. Welcome to the  _ Leblanc _ , miss. I don’t suppose you’re hungry? How do you feel about curry?”

“I should probably eat. Curry sounds nice… sir.” Makoto said, trying to hide how exactly famished she was. 

“Let’s take a seat and get the rest of the crew in.” Joker said. “Yeah, two curries and some decaf coffee.”

“Take a seat, miss.” Sojiro said. “I’m Sojiro Sakura. I’m the cook on this ship. So you’ll probably be seeing me whenever you get hungry.”

“Makoto Niijima.” she said. “A pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“I can’t imagine it is. Lovely lady like you meeting an old fart like me.” Sojiro said. “Thanks for bailing this idiot out, though. I’m sorry to say he’s not going to get better.”

“I uh…” Makoto wasn’t used to this. She had never heard people talk this way. Sojiro was insulting Joker, but it felt… affectionate. It was almost the exact opposite of all the compliments Captain Akechi would pay her, which always felt clinical and insincere. Beyond that, everyone was calling her  _ beautiful _ . What was that about? “He’s been very helpful to me and I hope I can be useful in my time here.”

“Ah don’t be like that.” Sojiro said. “This isn’t an office job.”

The doors opened and Makoto turned to see who had come in. To her surprise, the person wasn’t human. No, it was an Eldin woman. One of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top and her hair was up in twintails, making her pointed ears immediately visible and piercing blue eyes that no human would ever have. Then she did something she had never seen an Eldin do: she ran up and gave Ren a hug. 

“Ren! You’re back!” she said, her voice bouncy and brisk. “Never had a doubt in my mind!”

This was another surprise. Every Eldin that Makoto had ever met had been stiff and clinical. Not unemotional, exactly, but certainly removed from it. Makoto always found the idea that some humans floated that they didn’t have feelings and just pretended to be rather racist, but she was taken aback at this. Most humans she knew weren’t even this openly affectionate. Were they…?

So what if they were, Makoto quietly admonished herself. What Joker did in his personal life was none of her business, and it was silly to think he never had any interactions with any other women. Still, did they have to do that in front of her?

“I couldn’t have done it on my own.” Ren said. “Ann, this is Makoto Niijima, the woman who broke me out, and maybe the best pilot I’ve ever seen. Makoto, this is Ann Tamaki. She’s our… well for lack of a better term, our public relations expert.”

“P-pleasure to meet you.” she said, offering a hand to shake, but Ann ignored it and also wrapped her in a big hug. So, she just did that to everyone.

“Welcome to  _ Leblanc! _ ” she said. “And thanks so much! If you need help getting acclimated, just ask and…” she looked Makoto up and down and Makoto felt self-conscious. “Is that all you have on you with clothes?”

Makoto hadn’t even thought of that. She was still in her flight uniform and drenched in sweat. Hopefully she didn’t smell bad. She was just focused on getting away from criminal prosecution that she hadn’t thought of things like clothes or money or food. 

“We were… kind of in a hurry.” Makoto admitted.

“Well, first thing, we have to get you some new clothes.” Ann said. “We can’t have you walking around in an old flight suit the whole time. You’ve got such a nice figure too. I can’t wait to see you in some other clothes.”

“Uummmm…” Makoto said. Everyone on this ship was so intense. Friendly, but intense. They barely knew her and then were coming up to her like they were best friends.

“Did I hear that we have someone new on board?” came a booming voice. Into the room walked a Darunian. Big and covered with blonde hair in patches over his body, the man came in with a big smile on his face. “Hey Ren! How did the escape go?”

“And this is Ryuji.” Ren said. “He’s our resident muscle. Also a people person.”

Makoto had never met a Darunian before. She only knew the stories. They weren’t enemies with the federation. Not anymore anyways. Now they were more akin to uneasy allies. They were big and violent and had a good deal of the galaxy if not under their direct thumb then at least under physical control. While the war had been over since before Makoto had even joined the academy but the wounds still lingered. No one in the federation had any positive words for Darunians. Everyone categorized them as brutal and cruel, always ready for a fight and seeing diplomacy as the trend of the weak. Makoto knew that war created hatred of the other, but she had always expected them to be… scarier. This Darunian almost felt like a big teddy bear, though Makoto was still haoping she didn’t get another hug from him. She had enough unwarned physical contact for one day. 

“Ryuji. Ann.” Makoto said. “Both Earth names. Japanese like ours.”

“My actual name has a lot more growling and snarls that humans can’t pronounce.” Ryuji said. “So Ryuji was the closest human approximation we could find. Don’t worry about trying to pronounce it. Never met a human who can.” 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Makoto said. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never met a Darunian before.”

“Well, I never met a Feddie who wasn’t trying to kill me so I guess we’re even.” Ryuji said. 

“Is everyone on this ship so… friendly?” Makoto asked. Makoto had been prepared for a pirate ship to be more lax than her military science vessel, but she had not been prepared for the fact that everyone here seemed so… happy. They didn’t seem quite like a family but everyone here seemed to be very fond of each other. Makoto didn’t know how to deal with that.

“Only to the people we like.” Ren said. “But it has been a full three weeks since Ryuji ripped someone’s arms off so he’s making progress.”

Makoto blanched at that. 

“That was… that was a joke, Makoto.” Ren said. 

“O-oh!” she said, feeling heat come to her face. “S-sorry. I’m not quite sure how things work around here.”

The door opened once more and Yusuke came in, accompanied by another human. This one was a woman with fluffy light brown hair. She was dressed fashionably, and while more conservatively dressed than Ann, Makoto knew no officer would ever have worn clothing like that on a military ship. Too many loose bits, too much decoration. In the Federation, everyone looked more or less the same, even if they were members of a nonhuman race. There was something about everyone here. They weren’t Federation members, they weren’t even fearsome pirates. They were just… whatever they were.

“Greetings, ma’am.” The human woman said. “My name is Haru Okumara. It’s a pleasure to meet you. And always, wonderful to see you back and safe Ren.” 

“Okumura?” Makoto repeated. “As in Okumura foods?” Everyone knew Okumura foods, they were one of the biggest terraforming farm contractors in the federation. 

Haru nodded a little curtly. “I’d prefer not to be known by association with my father, but yes.”

Makoto blanched. “And you’re not… a hostage or something?” she asked. 

She giggled. “Oh heavens no.” she said. “I’m here of my own volition, a part of the crew and everything. I’m what I suppose you would call the social brain and funds of this operation.”

They had a rich benefactor. “And your father hasn’t cut you off?” Makoto asked. “I don’t know if the head of one of the biggest businesses in the world would be okay with his money funding a pirate ship.”

“Oh he doesn’t know.” Haru said. “The thing about rich people is they put their money into so many different things. I just dip into one of his off-planet accounts in the neutral zone and he doesn’t notice a thing.”

“The rich really are not like us.” Ren said. “Fortunately, that’s why the poor have us.”

“Curry’s up.” Sojiro said, bringing out five bowls of curry and accompanying cups of coffee. “Decaf.” he offered. “Don’t figure you need to stay up much more. Cream, sweetener?” 

“No thank you, I’ll take it black.” she said. Makoto took a sip thankfully. It was bitter, but not too much so. She had never liked sweeteners in her drink. Something about not liking a drink until you changed something fundamental about struck her wrong. A silly attitude to have about drinks, perhaps, but there were plenty of other things about it.”

“Is this the entire crew?” Makoto asked. “That Oracle woman isn’t here.”

“That’s Futaba, she’s our navigator.” Ren said. “She usually doesn’t leave the bridge though. Lives there, practically.”

“If you’re asking me to pilot, I should probably meet her sometime soon.” Makoto said, she thought not unreasonably.

“You look like you need some rest.” Sojiro said. “And Futaba… probably needs time to prepare.”

“Prepare?” Makoto asked. It seemed there was one new thing after another. 

“Futaba is rather shy.” Haru offered. “She’s very nice, but meeting new people isn’t one of her favorite things in the universe. I’m sure when you two meet you’ll become fast friends though.”

Would they? Haru had barely met her and was deciding that. The place became lively with discussion among the group with Makoto being asked questions about herself and answering as best as she could. Ann’s questions were often about clothing, while Ryuji was asking her about how many dog fights she had gotten into. 

If Makoto was honest, it was… a little exhausting. She had never been a particularly social person. It had gotten her something of reputation as an ice queen, which only ended up making her more reserved. Social skills were like muscle, Makoto felt. If you didn’t use it, it would become weaker to the point of complete uselessness. That was where Makoto was at the moment. She wasn’t particularly useful in this situation. She hadn’t worked those muscles.

The pirates seemed patient with her reticence. Moreso than any of her old crew aboard the  _ Crow _ . The only person who ever really spoke to her was Akechi, and that wasn’t a person who she felt would make her better at speaking to people. Here, no one was trying to prove themselves, no one was gunning for someone else’s jobs. They were all friends, and oddest of all, they seemed to want Makoto to be their friend as well.

When they finished eating, Ann spoke up. “I can show her where the spare room is.” she offered. “You probably need sleep too, Ren.”

He nodded and shuffled off. “We’ll show you the cockpit after we both get some rest.”

Makoto nodded weakly. Black suns, was she exhausted. She hadn’t slept in nearly 48 hours, kept awake by adrenaline and motivation. Now that no responsibilities were right in front of her, she was feeling every moment of sleep deprivation.

Ann gently guided back to the lift and they had gotten off on another floor. Lift trips were far shorter on this ship, most likely because it was so much smaller. The room Ann brought her to was small, but comfortable looking. It had a bed that looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. It took all of her remaining energy to even get to the bed and collapse. She didn’t even take off her clothes.

And yet, she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was racing. She couldn’t help but think about what she had just done. Now that there was nothing else, the rashness, the utter foolishness of it struck her. Her entire life was gone now. Her sister was now hunting her as a fugitive and she was trapped with a group of pirates. They were affable enough now, but how long would that happen? How long until she was caught or marooned or something she hadn’t even thought of? She was overcome by fear and grief for the life she left behind, but no tears came out. Makoto may have even forgotten how to cry altogether. For thirty minutes, she held herself and hyperventilated until exhaustion finally took her. 

****************

Ren also couldn’t sleep, but he was still far more comfortable than his new recruit. He sat at the bar opposite who smoked a cigarette as they 

“At this rate, we might become a halfway house or something.” Sojiro said. “How many new pirates are we going to recruit? This another fling of yours?”

“It’s not like that.” Ren responded. Gone was the bravado he had around the woman who rescued him. Now in front of Sojiro was a tired kid barely into his twenties. He had finally shed his tattered pirate outfit, now just in sweats and loose shirt. “She saved me, and she needed help too.”

“Yeah, something tells me that’s not it.” Sojiro responded.

“What else do you think there is?” he said. 

“I don’t know, those legs, those eyes, her general tough demeanor.” Sojiro said. “You’ve always had a weakness for powerful women. Nothing wrong with that, but you’re also prone to snap judgments. I mean, you already decided to offer her a pilot job?”

“We need a pilot.” Ren said. “Futaba’s fine, but she’s never been comfortable beyond navigating and hacking. If anything, she’ll probably welcome the help.”

“Maybe.” Sojiro said. He still seemed unconvinced. “Remember when Haru came? She was like a newly adopted cat for all we could find. She doesn’t seem like she’s going to instantly be best friends with everyone either.”

“What should I have done?” Ren asked. “Let them send me to prison? Betray and jettison her? Let her get arrested?”

“Not saying you should have done any of that.” Sojiro said. “Just you’ve got a big heart. Pirates with big hearts don’t tend to live very long.”

“Neither do ones that have a habit of making enemies.” Ren said. “Phantom Pirate Joker is all about helping people. Robbing from the rich, giving to the poor, that sort of the thing.”

“After we take a percentage of course.” Sojiro said. 

“Well, these coffee beans aren’t cheap.” Ren said, a smirk coming to his mouth.

Sojiro had known this kid awhile now, after rescuing him from a marooned planet. Since then, Ren had taken charge and turned what had been a small smuggling ship into the base of operations of notorious pirates.It was more ambitious than Sojiro had ever been. Maybe you just had to be this young and cocky to really believe you could change things. That double-edged sword meant that often the kid wouldn’t think everything he was doing completely through. Ren -or Joker, because Sojiro had to admit that sometimes he thought of them as two different people- seemed to have no acknowledgment of his own mortality. It was made all the more infuriating by his seeming invulnerability. Still, Sojiro liked Ren. Even more than that, he believed in what Joker was doing. Unlike Ren, he didn’t believe that anything was going to change. He’d be around far too long for that to be something he thought. Still, it was nice that someone was trying to do something, even if it was small.

Not that he’d ever tell the kid that, black suns.

“Neither is your life, kid.” Sojiro said. “You took a big risk trusting that girl. You mind giving me a reason why?”

“A feeling.” Ren explained.

“A… feeling.” Sojiro repeated. 

“Yeah, a feeling.” Ren said. “She felt… wasted there. Like there’s something more to her than just another uniform. That’s what the Federation does, it takes people, forces them into pegs, and wastes them.”

“And you think she’s going to, what, reach her full potential by becoming a space pirate?” 

“Stranger things have happened.” Joker pointed out.

“True enough.” Sojiro agreed. “This entire crew is full of them.”

And they both quietly sipped on their coffee as the ship sailed through the stars, only the mild hum of the ship giving them company.


	5. Meeting The Little Sister

Makoto woke to indescribable disorientation. Where was she? Oh. Right. She had broken a space pirate out of a holding cell and was now living on a pirate ship. What was waking her was… no it wasn’t an alarm. It was a voice. A computer’s voice. The ship was waking her up.

“Hey, new girl!” came an androgynous voice. “You’ve been asleep for ten hours. The captain wanted me to call in and ask how you were doing.” 

Makoto blinked the sand out of her eyes. She was still in her flight suit and drenched in sweat besides. Her vision adjusted as she looked to the vid screen to see an odd, cartoonish figure on the screen. 

“A… cat?” Makoto said, her throat dry.

“I’m not a cat!” cried the figure on the screen. “I’m the cutting edge A.I., the Mechanical Operation and Navigation Assistant, M.O.N.A. You can call me Morgana, and I help guide this ship.” 

A ship A.I. An odd one. While the  _ Crow _ had an A.I. as well, it didn’t have anywhere near this level of personality. It simply received and responded to orders rather than asking or talking like this. 

“Hello, Morgana.” she said. “I’m Makoto Niijima. Pleasure to meet you. Tell the Captain… I’m assuming Amamiya-san is the captain here?”

“He is, but I’m the one who does all the work on this ship.” Morgana said proudly. 

“Tell him I apologize for sleeping in, but I’ve had a very exhausting two days.” she said. She got up and stretched, further feeling how drenched she was in the flight uniform. She hadn’t even thought about clothing until the Eldin Takamaki had brought it up last evening. “Also… ask if he could bring me a change of clothes.”

“I’ll talk to Lady Ann, I’m sure she’ll have something.” Morgana said cheerfully. 

“Yes, I think before I meet the Captain I should clean up.” She looked and noticed that her quarters had a water closet. “I’ve been in the same clothes for far too long.”

“Sure thing! I promise I won’t peek or anything!” Morgana said, which worried Makoto immensely because until that very moment the idea of an A.I. watching her in the shower didn’t cross her mind. “Lady Ann will be over with some clothes!”

Morgana winked out of the screen and Makoto headed for the water closet. The shower inside wasn’t particularly big, but she was used to small spaces after her time in the Federation. She turned on the water and felt to make sure it heated up before getting in. They had hot water, thank the stars.

The shower almost felt like a baptism. With the dirt, grime, and sweat washing off of her she felt a little more calm, able to collect her thoughts. It wasn’t that she no longer had any reservations about her choice to leave the Federation or the break Joker out. However, a part of her was realizing how inevitable it was. A sleep away, Makoto realized how miserable she was there, forced along, only to be ordered by a simpering sycophant like Akechi and have her entire presence resented by her only family. Maybe this wasn’t where Makoto was supposed to be, but it was absolutely a good thing that she was out.

That didn’t make her any less nervous about all of this, but it did help her keep going forward. She stayed in the shower for longer than she usually did, partially because of just how unclean she had felt, but also because it just felt good to feel the hot water hit her. It wasn’t much but such a simple pleasure was important right now.

She came out in a towel, grateful because Ann was standing there, an assortment of various types of clothing in her arms. “Hi, Niijima-san.” she said cheerfully. “Sorry if I just let myself in, but I figured you’d want these as soon as possible.”

Makoto blanched for a moment. They might have both been women, but it was still incredibly forward to come into her room. She barely knew this woman.

“Thanks, but uhhhh… could you knock next time?” Makoto asked. 

“I did.” Ann said. “You didn’t answer, so i just came in. I just felt having these clothes would be really important. Sorry about that.”

“Oh.” Makoto said. The clothes -were- important right now. “Well, uh, do you mind stepping outside for a moment so I can change?” 

“Oh!” Ann said, and put the clothes on the bed quickly. “I’ll wait outside! Ren wants to meet you on the bridge!”

As Ann left, Makoto took at the clothing. They were nice clothes, and also things that Makoto herself would never wear on her own. The colors were bright and a number of them were rather revealing. Ann was clearly different from Makoto in that she thrived on attention. Makoto didn’t particularly like having eyes on her in that way. Perhaps if she looked like Ann she would be more amenable to that kind of attention if she looked like Ann with her long legs and full breasts, but Makoto’s entire figure was far more modest. She didn’t have the look of someone looking for fashion trends. 

Makoto finally found some clothing she felt comfortable in, the most drab and conservative of the outfits, which still showed more cleavage than she was comfortable with. She wondered what Joker would think, seeing her in clothing that showed this much skin.

_ Why do you keep thinking about him like that? _ Makoto asked herself.  _ He may be handsome, but he’s hardly the only good-looking man you’ve ever seen? He may have helped save your life, but you hardly know him _ . 

Still, there was something about Joker that she couldn’t put into words. He was different from anyone she ever met. Just the way he smiled, the way he talked to her… and understood her. Not even her own family members had made her feel seen in the way that this man she had met two days ago had.

Makoto brushed her thoughts aside as she left her quarters, fully clothed of course. Ann was waiting patiently outside and gave her a smile. “So you went with those clothes, huh? They look good on you!”

Makoto highly doubted that. Eldin were always known for being lithe and traditionally pretty by general human standards, but Ann… she drew everyone in. She thought about a similar power Sae had, but Sae commanded others, drew them in through sheer force of will. Ann seemed to invite people with her warmth, and it felt so much more powerful.

“Thanks.” Makoto finally said. “This isn’t really what I usually wear. I don’t really do fashion much.”

“That’s okay!” Ann said. “I can help you out. I can tell you’re not really a flashy person, but we can get you stuff that’s at least a little more interesting than a Federation uniform! It’d be a shame to waste you on drab uniforms.”

“I guess.” Makoto said. “I guess everyone dresses a little flashy here, since they like the drama.” 

“Joker has a flair for it, it’s true.” Ann admitted. “He likes us to be noticed, says even if not everyone believes us, at least some people will look into what we’re doing.”

“I guess that’s part of why you two are together?” Makoto said, regretting what had come out of her mouth immediately.

“What a minute… do you think Ren and I…” she give a girlish giggle. “Oh no. No no no. He’s like a brother to me.”

“O-oh. I shouldn’t have assumed. I just figured what with how close you two acted…” she didn’t finish the statement. Honestly, it was bothering her how relieved that made her. Why did Amamiya occupy her thoughts so much? She barely knew him. 

“Ah, no don’t worry.” Ann said. “Besides, I’m seeing someone else. Ren’s not really my type.”

“Not your type?” Makoto repeated.

“I’m not into boys.” she explained.

“Oh! Well I’m doubly sorry for assuming that you and he were together.” Makoto said. 

“Seriously, it’s fine.” Ann said. “Relax, no one’s going to bite your head off for making a minor mistake like that.”

_ Wouldn’t that be a change of pace _ Makoto thought. She was used to walking on eggshells, be it from interacting with Sae or just the rigorous demands of a military training. It was more awkward for her not to be on guard.

“What is the navigator like?” Makoto asked. “She’s the only one I haven’t met.”

“Futaba? Well, she’s a bit of a… character.” Ann said. “You’ll see when you meet her.” 

Joker was waiting outside of the cockpit, ready to greet her. His ostentatious, but tattered clothing was gone. Now he simply wore some slacks and a sweatshirt and over his eyes was a pair of spectacles. Interesting that he hadn’t had those corrected with laser surgery. Glasses were immensely rare and usually only seen on poorer planets. Was that where he came from? 

“Hello, Niijima-san.” his voice didn’t have the same dramatic tilt to it, but it was still friendly. “You ready for your first day on the job?”

“Errr.. sure.” Makoto said. “I still haven’t met this Futaba person. Is she already in the cockpit?”

“She is.” Joker confirmed. “She rarely leaves it as a matter of fact. Be warned, she’s kind of made it her own personal quarters in a way.” 

Amamiya opened the door and Makoto followed. It was dark in there. Darker than anywhere else in the ship. Makoto could barely see the pirate captain ahead of her.

“Could we… turn the lights up?” Makoto asked. Then she jumped as she heard something skitter. Were there rats or some other kind of vermin in here? 

“Futaba’s sensitive to the light. We’ll have to find her and ask her beforehand.” Joker explained.

“Find her?” Makoto asked. “Isn’t she your navigator?”

“Yes, but well… she’s really reclusive.” Amamiya explained. “Sometimes she just doesn’t want to be found.”

“Great.” Makoto said quietly to herself. “Stumbling around the cockpit of a ship I’ve never been in before looking for a person I’ve never seen. No problem.”

Makoto didn’t like the dark, and she also didn’t like the idea that hating the dark was irrational. Makoto needed information to make decisions and actions. Being deprived of sight severely limited the information she could make. It made her vulnerable. It was perfectly rational to be afraid of the dark. 

Especially when you felt something coming up from right behind you. Makoto, slowly, against her better judgement, turned around to see what it was creeping behind her.

And looked right into a set of huge pale eyes and the glint of razor sharp teeth! 

“Aaaaah!” she shrieked, hearing whatever was looking at her give a howl. She jumped behind Joker and latched onto him. “Computer! Lights on! Lights on!”

The demand had been instinctive. She hadn’t even thought of if the computer of the ship would recognize her. Morgana had met her before though, and recognized her as a member of the crew. The flared to life.

Makoto saw what was looking at her. She heard it too, because the small girl shrieked and retreated into a corner, closing its big, bright eyes and holding its head. The girl began to whimper in pain.

“Ah shit, I should have realized something like this would happen.” Joker said. “Morgana dim the lights please.”

The lights went down, but not as imperceptibly dark as before. Makoto could see a little now. To her surprise, the girl’s hair began to glow gently with a bright orange she had never seen in another person, human or otherwise. Makoto just realized what she had done. Joker had told her this girl was sensitive to light. 

“I am so sorry!” she said. “I was just… just surprised by…”

“Joker, she turned on the lights!” whimpered the girl who Makoto realized was Futaba. “Didn’t you tell her not to?”

“It’s my fault.” Ren lied, making Makoto feel worse. Her first day on the job and she had potentially blinded a co-worker. “She was just startled and she did say she was sorry.”

“Eyes hurt, Joker.” she said. “The lights were too bright.”

“I really am very sorry.” Makoto said, hoping her sincerity was coming through. “Does she need anything?”

“Just some time.” Joker went over and picked the shivering girl up and laid her on a cot that was in the corner of the room. The cockpit wasn’t as large as the  _ Crow’s _ but it was still big enough that it could be used as a small makeshift apartment. Looking around, she saw scattered instant food packages, a few filled trash bags, and most surprisingly a bunch of plastic figures of characters from games and anime. This place was her home, effectively. 

“Her skin is so pale.” Makoto said. “And her hair… what is her species?”

“We don’t know.” Amamiya answered. “Sojiro found her years ago, before I even met him. We’ve never met another of her kind. For all we know, she could be the last of her kind. Sojiro named her. She’s basically his adopted daughter.”

“Where did he find her?” Makoto asked. She was younger than anyone on this ship, or least she looked like it. Looking at her, she felt small and frail, the opposite of that terrifying visage that terrified her mere moments ago.

“And she’s your navigator?” Makoto asked. 

“And a damn good one.” Ren said.

“And I blinded her.” Makoto said. “So much for first impressions.” 

Joker sat down in a chair in the middle of the room. It should have been a captain’s chair, but to the side was a computer set-up. Makoto noticed that it absolutely wasn’t a navigation computer. Rather, it was a gaming PC. She had all her recreation right here. 

“Does she ever leave this place?” Makoto asked.

“Only when she has to.” explained Amamiya. “We’re not sure if her species are reclusive like this or if it’s just her, though it would explain why we haven’t any others of the species.”

Makoto nodded. “And the sensitivity to light.” she said. Futaba stirred a little afterwards.

“Joker…?” she muttered. “Is this the new girl?”

“Okay, we can finally introduce the two of you to each other.” Joker said. “Futaba, this is Makoto. She’s a pilot.”

“Hiii.” she said. “Nice t’meet you…”

Makoto sensed that wasn’t true. “I’m sorry about the lights. I just got startled.”

“S’okay…” she said, still somewhat hazy. “I probably should have been a little less sneaky. I’m just like that sometimes.”

“Well, I hope we can start over.” I said. “My name’s Makoto, I’ll be staying here for… some time. While I am, I’ll be paying for my share by piloting the ship. Since you’re the navigator, I assume that we’ll be working together closely.”

“Probably…” Futaba said, her voice getting a little stronger. She got up from the cot and sat up. “Give me a second, and I’ll show you the helm. You ever pilot a Kirijo cruiser?”

So that’s what the ship was. Makoto made a mental note of that, even if the ship looked radically different from any commercial Kirijo ship she had ever seen.

“I haven’t, but I know about them and I’ve piloted similar vehicles.” Makoto explained. 

“That’s good.” Futaba said. “I probably will only have to tell you about the goodies Joker and the others put here.”

“You know you don’t have to use codenames when we’re off the job, right Futaba?” Joker said. 

“Yeah, but you’re Joker.” Futaba said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. She stood up and walked to the helm. “He’s put a lot of goodies onto this ship. Take a look.” 

Makoto came forward and sat in the cockpit. It wasn’t as sleek as the  _ Crow _ . The interface had eschewed touchpads and holoscreens for far more low maintenance technology. Switches, knobs, buttons, and analogue counters were what stayed on the cockpit, as well as a manual pair of control sticks for the ship’s back thrusters. Many of the tech junkies in the Federation would mock these designs, but Makoto saw a lot of virtue in them. If you didn’t have specialiasts or a ton of money for repairs, then low maintenance systems like this made a lot of sense. A broken touchpad took a lot more work to fix than a knob that fell off after all. Even some exploration vehicles in the Federation would use similar interfaces for that reason. 

While the interface might have been obsolete, the ship certainly wasn’t. The ship had a cloaking device, and just looking at the controls, the  _ Leblanc _ could sneak past anything but the most advanced detection systems without making a blip. The weapons weren’t much to speak of, but there was a complex warp drive speed. 

“How fast can she go?” Makoto asked, looking at the controls.

“We did point seven past light speed once.” Futaba said. 

“Po-point seven?” Makoto responded. She had heard of ships making that much speed, but certainly never one this small.

“Yeah, but we blew an engine when we did that, so I wouldn’t recommend trying that.” Futaba said. “Usually we manage to do point three or four. Point five or six if we’re straining.”

“What did you do to get your ship to get to point seven?” Makoto asked. 

“Browbeat Inari until he worked his magic.” Futaba said, sounding especially proud of herself. Asking her about tech seemed to have recovered her from her previous issues. 

“Inari?” Makoto repeated.

“That’s what she calls Yusuke.” Joker translated for Futaba. “Long story.” 

Makoto nodded at that and gripped the control sticks. “Is it alright if I try to get a feel for how it moves at sunlight speed?” 

Futaba took a look at Joker, and Joker gestured towards Makoto. “Be my guest.”

Makoto nodded and pulled on the control sticks, and activated the thrusters slowly. She didn’t try anything fancy. This was just an attempt to understand how it moved. She was impressed at how smoothly the ship ran. Maneuverability wasn’t on the same level as a fighter or anything, but the acceleration barely had any g-force to it and she could turn very easily. 

“This ship could pilot through a meteor storm.” Makoto said. “Not that I would want to.” 

“She’s got us through a few tough jams.” Ren said. “It’s not the prettiest ship the universe, but there’s none I would rather be in in a jam.”

“Not much in terms of weapons.” Makoto noted. “I thought you were a pirate ship.”

“Raiding isn’t about firepower.” Ren said. “It’s about disorienting. Generally speaking, one the occasions we do actually raids, we just get some merchant ships.”

“And what do you raid?” Makoto asked.

“Only things that won’t be missed.” he explained. “Luxury crusiers, the occasional banker freight. We’ve got no use for things that regular people need.” 

“Right, I keep forgetting you guys are such humanitarians.” Makoto said. 

“Give us time.” Joker answered. “I’m hoping we’ll be able to prove ourselves to you.”

“And if I want to turn you over to the authorities?” Makoto asked.

“You would be jailing yourself as well.” Joker offered.

“What if I think you pose that much of a risk?” Makoto retorted. “After all, you are the most infamous pirates in the galaxy after all.”

“Oh I know what this is!” Futaba suddenly said. “I’ve seen this in anime! You two are flirting, aren’t you?”

Makoto’s brain froze again. “I- Wha-” she felt her cheeks get hot. “No we’re not! Why would you- Life isn’t like holodrama!”

Joker laughed, but Makoto could have sworn she could see a hint of red on his cheeks too. “That’s just how Futaba is.” he explained. “She doesn’t get out much, so besides us she mostly learns about human interactions from video games, holodramas, light novels, those sorts of things.”

Makoto looked to Futaba. “Isn’t that lonely?”

“Nah.” Futaba said. “I have Ren and Sojiro and the others!”

That wasn’t a lot of people, but it was still more than Makoto had ever had, even if you included Sae and Akechi. She had been in that busy, bustling ship and never had anyone to turn to. 

“Hey, do you like anime at all?” Futaba added. “There are a whole bunch of new shows starting on the subspace networks and I need a watching buddy!”

“Anime?” Makoto asked. “To be honest, I haven’t really watched much.”

“What do you do for fun then?” Futaba asked. 

“Well, uh, I supposed I study, I exercise, I cook….” Makoto said, realizing how uninteresting she was making herself sound even as the words left her mouth.

“No I mean for fun fun!” Futaba said. “Don’t you watch any movies or anything?”

“Well, I like crime films.” Makoto said. “Kind of ironic now that I’m a criminal myself.” she thought a little harder. “And when I was young, I guess I watched a lot of Kamen Rider.”

Futaba’s luminescent eyes got even brighter at those words. “Oh man! I love love  _ love _ Kamen Rider! I’ve even seen all the ancient original 2-D shows! What’s your favorite season? I gotta know!”

“Ummm… it’s been awhile. But if you like, I suppose I can watch some with you.” she said. “Especially if we have the time while piloting the ship.”

While Makoto was a uniquely skilled pilot, the truth was most space travel was really boring. It was mostly discovering co-ordinates and making sure that the ship stayed on course. Unless where you were trying to get to was particularly difficult, a ship could get by one someone being both a pilot and navigator at once. Of course, Makoto already knew that this ship wasn’t going to just be taking freight jobs.

“Oh yeah! Sometimes I just stay in here and binge for days straight! It’s great!” Futaba said.

“Don’t you need to eat?” Makoto asked. What even did someone of… whatever species Futaba was eat? 

“Yeah, but it’s fine.” Futaba said. “Sojiro brings me food when I’m hungry and I’ve got instant food and nutrient supplements when I need to snack.”

Makoto resisted the urge to tell her that she should be eating better. Part of it was she didn’t know how Futaba worked, but she got the feeling that if she ate the same things, her metabolism wasn’t that different.

Makoto said. “Alright, well Navigator, where are we going?”

“When I’m on the job it’s Oracle!” Futaba said. 

“A-alright then, Oracle.” Makoto answered. “Where are we going?”

“We gotta get you a codename too!” Futaba said. “Like Ann is Panther and Haru is Noire! You need to think of something really cool to describe yourself!”

“Alright,” Makoto said. “But where. Are. We. Going?”

“Oh! Right! The co-ordinates!” Futaba said as though it had just now crossed her mind. “Uhhh… Joker? Where are we going?”

“We need to restock and resupply.” Joker said. “Let’s set a course for Ceti Alpha 5.”

Makoto had heard that name many times, but had never been there. Ceti Alpha 5 was a large spaceport. Half the size of a planet. It had an underworld as anything big was bound to, but it felt surprisingly normal for this group. It was like they were going to get groceries. They probably were, too.

“Alrighty then.” Futaba said. “Setting in co-ordinates, take it away Niijima-san. What season of Kamen Rider do you want me to put on?”

Futaba kept listing off the series she had while Makoto followed the route that had been set. Futaba was awkward as she talked about anime and superheroes, but that was fine because Makoto was awkward herself. Everyone on this ship was at least a little odd. That included her. 

She still wasn’t sure if she was going to stay, but she felt welcome. These people made her feel welcome, especially Ren. For now, that was enough.


End file.
